LA curfew to continue for ‘couple more days'
LOS ANGELES: A nightly curfew in Los Angeles will continue for "a couple more days," Mayor Karen Bass said, the ninth day of protests that have seen US President Donald Trump launch a military-backed crackdown. Demonstrators began protesting on June 6 against immigration raids launched by the Trump administration to round up undocumented migrants in the heavily Latino city in Democrat-led California.
Bass issued an overnight curfew on June 10 on the downtown area at the heart of the protests to stop incidents of vandalism and looting. On Sunday she said she is hoping that the number of people behind the violent incidents "will taper off". "So I know the curfew will be on for at least a couple more days," she said in a televised interview with local news channel KTLA, adding that she cannot predict how many more days exactly. "We don't know how many raids are going to happen, we don't know what the character of the raids will be, and every time that happens it really generates a lot of anger in the city," she said. — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
24 minutes ago
- Observer
Trump urges Tehran evacuation as Iran-Israel conflict enters fifth day
Israel and Iran attacked each other for a fifth straight day on Tuesday, and U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iranians to evacuate Tehran, citing what he said was the country's rejection of a deal to curb nuclear weapons development. World leaders meeting at the Group of Seven summit in Canada called for a de-escalation of the worst-ever conflict between the regional foes, saying Iran must never have a nuclear weapon while affirming Israel's right to defend itself. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump, who was leaving the summit a day early due to the Middle East situation, had proposed a ceasefire for Iran and Israel. "There is an offer that has been made, especially to have a ceasefire and to initiate broader discussions. And I think this is a very good thing," Macron told reporters. "So now we need to see what the stakeholders will do." Trump has repeatedly urged Iran to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions. "Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform on Monday. Axios reported the White House is discussing with Iran the possibility of a meeting this week between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Air defences were activated also in Natanz, home to key nuclear installations 320 km (200 miles) away, the Asriran news website reported. Late on Monday, Israel said it hit Iran's broadcasting authority, and footage showed a newsreader hurrying from her seat as a blast struck. Iranian state television said the strike killed two people. In Israel, air raid sirens wailed in Tel Aviv after midnight but there were no reports of missile strikes. Iranian officials have reported 224 deaths, mostly civilians, in five days, while Israel said 24 civilians had been killed. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said nearly 3,000 Israelis had been evacuated due to damage from Iranian strikes. Sources told Reuters that Tehran had asked Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to urge Trump to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to an immediate ceasefire. In return, Iran would show flexibility in nuclear negotiations, according to two Iranian and three regional sources. "If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X. "Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue." Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. Oil prices rallied more than 2% early in Asia on Tuesday after Trump's evacuation warning, reversing losses on Monday amid reports that Iran was seeking an end to hostilities. The Iran-Israel air war - the biggest battle ever between the two longtime enemies - escalated on Monday with Israel targeting Iran's state broadcaster and uranium enrichment facilities. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the BBC that the Natanz plant sustained extensive damage, likely destroying 15,000 centrifuges, while Iran's Fordow plant remained largely intact. Talks between the United States and Iran, hosted by Oman, had been scheduled for June 15 but were scrapped, with Tehran saying it could not negotiate while under attack. Israel launched its air war with a surprise attack that has killed nearly the entire top echelon of Iran's military commanders and its leading nuclear scientists. It says it now has control of Iranian airspace and intends to escalate the campaign in the coming days. Trump has consistently said the Israeli assault could end quickly if Iran agreed to U.S. demands that it accept strict curbs on its nuclear programme.
Observer
24 minutes ago
- Observer
Iran urges Trump to make Israel halt war; crude falls
TEL AVIV/DUBAI: Iran called on US President Donald Trump on Monday to force Israel to cease fire as the only way to end the four-day-old aerial war, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was on the "path to victory". Israeli forces stepped up their bombardment of Iranian cities, while Iran proved capable of piercing Israeli air defences with one of its most successful volleys yet of retaliatory missile strikes. "If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X. "Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue. It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy." Sources said that Tehran had asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press Trump to use his influence on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire. In return, Iran would show flexibility in nuclear negotiations, said the two Iranian and three regional sources. US President Donald Trump said that Iran was not winning its conflict with Israel and should re-enter negotiations "before it's too late." "They have to make a deal, and it's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it's too late," Trump told reporters at a G7 summit in Canada. Stocks rose and oil prices fell more than $2 per barrel on Monday after reports that Iran is seeking an end to hostilities with Israel, raising the possibility of a truce and easing fears of a disruption to crude supplies from the region. The dollar dipped against the euro and pound, while safe-haven gold declined slightly. "As things stand, investors seem less fearful than they were going into the weekend of the possibility that the war between Israel and Iran spreads across the Middle East, and beyond," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services provider Trade Nation. "It appears that most of the Israeli air strikes and missile launches avoided the most significant parts of Iran's energy infrastructure. And so far Iran's retaliation has done relatively little damage," he added. Wall Street's main stock indices pushed higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq up around 1.5 per cent in late morning deals. In Europe, London, Paris and Frankfurt all closed the day with gains. They tracked gains in Asia, where Tokyo closed up 1.3 per cent, boosted by a weaker yen, while Hong Kong and Shanghai also advanced. — Agencies
Observer
an hour ago
- Observer
Stocks wobble, oil jumps on Middle East tensions; BOJ in focus
Global stocks slid and oil prices rose on Tuesday as fighting between Israel and Iran entered its fifth day, sowing fears of a broader regional conflict, while investors took in stride the Bank of Japan's decision to slow the pace of its bond tapering. U.S. President Donald Trump urged everyone to evacuate Tehran and cut short his visit to the Group of Seven summit in Canada, while a separate report said he had asked for the National Security Council to be prepared in the situation room. The developments sparked a wave of risk-off moves in which S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% and European futures dropped 0.7%. Crude prices were last up 0.7% at about $73 a barrel, after having briefly jumped more than 2% earlier in the session. "Suspicion is that we're about to see the United States begin some sort of military action in Iran and we're now seeing some risk aversion because it brings another element of uncertainty," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. Heightened uncertainty drove investors to traditional safe-haven assets, as a rise in U.S. Treasuries pushed yields lower across the curve, while gold prices edged up 0.3%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.2%, while China and Hong Kong equities slipped 0.1% each. Markets fear that conflict between Tel Aviv and Tehran could spill over into the oil-rich Middle East, though no disruptions have been reported yet. Oil markets' reactions have been the most volatile, while stocks and currencies have been more guarded. The air war between Iran and Israel, the longtime enemies' biggest battle ever, escalated on Monday, with Israel targeting Iran's state broadcaster and uranium enrichment facilities. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kicked off monetary policy decisions among central banks this week, leaving short-term interest rates unchanged at 0.5% as expected. The central bank also decided to leave unchanged its existing bond taper plan through March 2026, but set out a new plan beyond next April to decelerate the pace of its balance sheet drawdown. After trying to prop up Japan's flagging economy through JGB purchases for years, the BOJ has been trying to gracefully shrink those holdings since July in a process called quantitative tightening. However, weak demand at recent auctions caused a surge in super longer-dated yields to records last month and the central bank is effectively offering support to the bond market by a slowdown in tapering. The next test for markets will be an auction of 20-year JGBs on June 24. The yen firmed and last stood at 144.56 per dollar, while yields on 5-year and 10-year bonds rose about 3 basis points each as the BOJ's outlook reflected less support for shorter-dated tenors. Investors are now focussed on BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda's press conference at 0630 GMT. "The slower pace of bond tapering was what the market had hoped for and it help prevent long-term interest rates from shooting up," Saisuke Sakai, a senior economist at Mizuho Research and Technologies said. "In that sense it could help reduce risks of sharp rises in long-term interest rate, when the BOJ decides to raise the policy rate again." In a week filled with central bank meetings, the spotlight next turns on the Federal Reserve. The U.S. central bank is expected to hold rates steady on Wednesday but the focus yet again will be on the path Fed Chair Jerome Powell charts for future rate cuts as policymakers try to navigate Trump's erratic tariff policies and their global impact. Traders are pricing in two cuts by the end of the year. Investors also monitored developments on trade deals with Trump's early July deadline on tariffs fast approaching. Tariff talks between Japan and the United States on the sidelines of the G7 summit fell short of a breakthrough, while a deal with Britain left unresolved the issue of steel and aluminium duties.
